# LIBRARY OF COIGRESS, 



UH^- - IwisM 1° t 



^/^^f 



' JV5J 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.! 



RECOLLECTIONS OV INDIA: 



OR 



REMINISCENCES 



OF A 



SIX IflARS' RISIBINCI IN ORISSA. 



BY MRS. C. P. NOYES. 



<v. 



" The dark places of the earth are full of the habita- 
tions of cruelty."— Psalms 74: 20. 



PROVIDENCE: 
GEORGE H. WHITMEY. 

MDCCCLIL 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1352, 

ByA. D. WILLIAMS, 

In the Clerk's office of the District Court of Rhode 
Island. 



•> 



C,fc,\'^ 



^^«\^ 



A. W. PEARCE, PRINTER, 
PAWTUCKET, R. 



[NTER, } 
1.1. s 



PREFACE 



It is thought that this little volume will 
not be entirely devoid of either interest or 
profit. Its author relinquished the endear- 
ments of home and country to be a Christian 
missionary in a land of idols and moral pes- 
tilence ; and the following pages evince that 
she has not forgotten those among whom she 
would gladly have labored longer, had not 
disease compelled her return to her native 
land. She gives us a very condensed and 
unambitious narrative of the condition of 
Hindoostan and its people, and which is all 
the more interesting from the fact that it is 
almost entirely derived from her own per- 
sonal acquaintance with that interesting, 
but superstitious and degraded people. — 
Besides its interest in other respects, it will 
serve to illustrate the operations of the hu- 
man mind while endeavoring to " feel after" 
God, without the light of divine Revela- 
tion. A. D. w. 



CONTENTS. 



Geographical Description, 
Domestic Manners and Customs, 


- "^7 

- 19 


Temples and Idols, 

Passing through the Fire, etc., 

Caste, - - _ - - 


- 33 

- 47 
53 


Degradation of Females, 
Scripture Illustrated, (fee. 
The Santals, 


- 64 

72 
85 


The Khunds, - - - - 


- 92 


Missionary Operations, r 
Native and Christian Schools, - 


98 
108 


Vishnoo and his Incarnations, 


- 118 



EMBELLISHMENTS. 
Temple of Mahadabe, - Frontispiece 
Santal House, - - - - 21 

Juggernaut, - - - - - 31 
Anunta Sayan, _ - - - 38 

Brumha, 55 

Mahadabe, - - - - 69 

Vishnoo, 119 

Incarnations of Vishnoo, - 120, 1, 2 



RECOLLECTIONS OF INDIA. 

CHAPTER I. 

GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION. 

The Province of Orissa extends from 
the 18th to the 22d degree of north lati- 
tude. It is bounded by Bengal on the 
north, on the south by the river Goda- 
veri, by the bay of Bengal on the east, 
and west by the province of Gundwana. 
Its length from N. E. to S. W. is about 
four hundred miles, and seventy miles 
its average breadth. In its greatest di- 
mensions, it is divided into five districts ; 
viz : Jellasore, comprising Midnapore 
and the British possessions lying north 
and east of the river Subunreeka ; Bud- 
ruck ; Cuttack ; Culling or Cuacole ; Ra- 
jamundry. Besides this territory on the 
sea coast, Orissa comprehends a moun- 
tainous region on the western frontier. 
1 



8 RECOLLECTIONS 

The whole of these mountainous re- 
gions are divided among some thirty 
Rajahs or native kings. Over the other 
portion of Orissa, which is the best and 
most populous, the Honorable East In- 
dia Company hold absolute sway, while 
most of the Rajahs are tributary. From 
the banks of the Hoogly river, near the 
sea, we first enter a low swampy tract 
of country ; in all directions intersected 
by rivers and streams, and covered with 
low jungle, and high grass. These jun- 
gles are infested with tigers, buffaloes, 
wild hogs, jackalls, and other dangerous 
animals ; while the rivers are filled with 
fish and aligatoi-s. As we proceed, we 
see in all directions small villages, and 
here and there groves of trees, which 
give us to understand that we have near- 
ly passed the jungle. Then if we con- 
tinue our course along the sea shore, we 
soon enter upon a widely extended tract 



OF INDIA. 9 

of barren sand. Here the burning rays 
of the sun are very oppressive, and we 
look around in vain for the shade of a 
friendly tree, or the shadow of a great 
rock to shelter us. This tract of land 
continues, to a greater or less extent in 
breadth, several hundred miles. Some- 
times we see a few fishermen's huts built 
upon the sea shore; while at Chandi- 
pore and Pooree are the bungalows, or 
houses belonging to Europeans. 

The Province of Bengal, of which 
Calcutta is the capital, is alow flat coun- 
try. Indeed it is remarkable for being 
free from hills and all kinds of rocks and 
stones. I think we did not even meet 
with a common pebble stone during our 
journey through the province. But we 
find the scenery far more interesting and 
picturesque in the province of Orissa. 
As we enter the province from the north- 
east, we have the first view of the hills. 



10 RECOLLECTIONS 

a few miles before we reach Balasore, 
and they continue to form a distinct fea- 
ture in the scenery of the country. At 
Balasore they project to within five or 
six miles of the great road ; and as we 
approach Cuttack, in a few instances, 
isolated mountains are seen to the south 
of the road. These again recede till 
they reach the borders of the Chilka, 
where they stretch down to its very 
shores, and at Gangam a low ridge ap- 
pears to run out into the sea. The 
greatest height of these hills may be 
about 2000 feet, and their ordinary ele- 
vation may vary from 300 to 1000 feet. 
As we proceed southwest we see large 
groves of mango trees ; with here and 
there a banyan, beneath whose shady 
boughs more than a hundred men can 
find a comfortable shelter from the heat of 
a vertical sun. These are very refresh- 
ing sights to travelers. In the low lands, 



OF INDIA. 11 

distant from the sea, the weather is very 
sultry and uncomfortable ; but as you 
approach the sea, the delightful breezes 
are truly invigorating. Physicians in 
India generally advise Europeans, who 
are out of health, to visit the sea shore 
for a few weeks ; and they frequently de- 
rive as much benefit from the change, as 
from a sea voyage. 

Rice is the principal grain cultivated 
in Orissa, and is the chief food of the 
inhabitants. The natives raise two crops 
of rice a year ; and sometimes, when 
the land is very good, a third crop is 
raised. The rice is under water more 
or less for two or three months ; and if 
there is a scarcity of rain, the rice 
fields are obliged to be frequently wa- 
tered. The natives also cultivate seve- 
ral kinds of peas, which they call dhal. 
These peas they eat with their rice. 
The dhal is also given to horses, sheep 



12 RECOLLECTIONS 

and goats, and constitutes a part of 
the offerings to their gods. The cotton 
plant is extensively cultivated in Orissa. 
The seed is sown in October, and the 
cotton gathered in May or June. From 
the cocoa nut the natives extract a very 
nice, pure oil, which Europeans burn in 
their lamps. From the seeds of the 
mustard plant they make the common 
oil they use for annointing their bodies, 
cooking their curry, and dhal, and also 
to burn. The sugar cane is very plen- 
tiful in some parts of Orissa ; but the 
natives do not know how to make good 
sugar. They make a very coarse kind 
called gurar^ with which they make 
their sweetmeats. Tobacco and indigo 
are also cultivated in some parts. 

There is a variety of rich fruit in Oris- 
sa. The most common kinds are the 
mango, which resembles our peach, 
though much larger ; the plantain, like a 



OF INDIA. 13 

rich pear ; and the cocoa nut. Oranges, 
lemons, guava, custard apples, pine ap- 
ples, pomegranates, citrons, and many- 
other kinds, are found, though not in a- 
bundance, throughout the country. They 
require more labor to cultivate them 
than the indolent natives are willing to 
bestow. Occasionally, a rich native 
plants a large mango grove, which they 
consider an act of great religious merit. 
There are no little field berries in Orissa, 
but wild plums of various kinds are 
found. Some of the rich natives have 
very large and elegant gardens, but the 
poorer class have no land attached to 
their houses. 

The rivers in Orissa are very different 
from our American rivers. In the rainy 
season they overflow their banks and 
are sometimes a mile or two wide, but 
gradually subside during the hot season, 
when many of them become quite dry ; 



14 RECOLLECTIONS 

leaving a large bed of coarse sand. 
The largest river is the Mahaniidi. 
There are numerous sand banks in 
this and some other of the rivers, which 
are constantly shifting their courses, and 
this makes navigation very dangerous 
for vessels, and exceedingly hazardous 
for small boats. 

Artificial tanks, or ponds of water, 
are very common all over the country ; 
and indeed they are quite indispensable 
during the dry season. A tank is gen- 
erally attached to every garden, to sup- 
ply it with water. These tanks are 
filled during the rainy season, but they 
frequently dry up during the hot season. 
When they are filled with water they 
are generally well supplied with fish. 

There are three seasons in India. 
The hot season, commencing the first 
of March, and lasting till the middle of 
June, when the rains set in. The sec- 



OP INDIA. 15 

ond, or rainy season, continues till the 
last of September. The third, or cold 
season, commences the first of October 
and closes the last of February. 

The hot season is the most unpleasant 
and insupportable, especially to persons 
from a cold climate ; but it is generally 
considered the most healthy part of an 
Indian year. The rainy season is of- 
ten very pleasant. Frequent and heavy 
showers cool the air delightfully. The 
sudden change in nature — the fields vary- 
ing from a parched brown to the charm- 
ing fresh green, and the rapid growth 
of vegetation, delight the eye, and ani- 
mate the heart. Were it not that the 
rains produce so pleasing a change, and 
cool the air so finely, we should soon 
wish them at an end ; for at this season 
every thing grows damp and mouldy. 
The white ants also multiply exceeding- 
ly, and are very annoying. If you place 



16 RECOLLECTIONS 

a trunk of clothes upon your floor at 
night, without raising it a few inches by 
stones, very likely before twenty-four 
hours the ants will have eaten through, 
and destroyed all its contents. *It is very 
difficult also to preserve woolen clothes 
during the rains. This is also the sick- 
ly season. The cholera, especially, is 
very fatal among the natives. At some 
seasons the people die so fast, and the 
others flee in such numbers, as to de- 
populate whole villages. 

In the cold season — when it is win- 
ter here — the gardens in India are gaily 
adorned with rich flowers, the grass and 
trees are green as in summer, and many 
are covered with fruit ; while the green 
peas and beans and other garden vege- 
ables are then in their prime. This 
season is by far the most delight- 
ful and invigorating. During this part 
of the year the mornings and eve* 



OF INDIA. 17 

nings are quite cold ; but tlie sun is as 
hot, and much more powerful, at noon 
than in the heat of summer in New Eng- 
land. The poor natives appear to suffer 
much from cold. It is quite amusing to 
see them seated on their feet around a 
handful of fire, with their clothes closely- 
wrapped around them, so as to cover both 
head and face. 

Orissa is subject to sudden and tre- 
mendous storms, called south-westers, 
at the commencement and close of the 
rainy season. The rain descends in 
sheets rather than drops ; and sometimes 
in a few hours whole villages are over- 
flowed. At Balasore there has been two 
innundations of this kind within a few 
years. The sea rising to the height of 
twenty or twenty-five feet, carrying 
everything before it. Many villages 
and many hundreds of natives were 
swept away, as with the besom of des- 



18 RECOLLECTIONS 

tmction. These innundations are the 
cause of famine and pestilence, as much 
as a scarcity of rain, and therefore are 
very much dreaded by the natives. 
Thunder showers are not genei'ally as 
severe in India as in America. We 
veiy seldom hear of any accident or 
death by lighting ; though occasionally 
this is the case. 

The domestic animals of India do not 
rank high in the scale of excellence. 
The horned cattle, sheep, and goats, are 
a miserable, diminutive breed. On the 
eastern frontier, a few fine buffaloes are 
domesticated for the sake of their milk, 
but they are not used as beasts of bur- 
den. Some game may be met with in 
the province ; as patridges, hares, snipes, 
jungle fowl, and various kinds of ducks. 
The hill estates vary in the proportion of 
arable land which they contain ; but in 
most a considerable quantity of rice is 



OF INDIA. 19 

grown, and some other grain. The 
woods of the interior produce abund- 
ance of fine timber. The teak tree, 
which produces the most valuable tim- 
ber, is found in many parts, though not 
in great abundance. 

The jungles abound with trees and 
plants yielding drugs and medicinal ar- 
ticles, or those so esteemed by the na- 
tives. 



CHAPTER II. 

DOMESTIC MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 

The most common kind of dwellings 
among the Hindoos are small huts about 
ten feet wide and fifteen feet long — the 
walls of which are of mud. The roof 
consists of bamboos and long grass, 
called thatch. The thatch is tied to the 



20 RECOLLECTIONS 

bamboos with grass ropes, so firmly as 
to shed the rain; though it is not an 
uncommon event for the wind, in a se- 
vere storm, to unroof all the huts in a vil- 
lage. A complete Hindoo house con- 
sists of two apartments ; and sometimes 
of four, standing so as to enclose an area 
of fifteen or twenty feet square, which is 
uncovered. These houses seldom have 
any windows, and are therefore very 
gloomy. 

Another kind of house has walls built 
of split bamboos, and plastered outside 
and in with mud. The Santals, and oth- 
er hill tribes, generally build such hous- 
es. Stores and granaries have walls 
built of mud and the roofs covered with 
coiled brick, called tiles, fastened to 
bamboos. The houses in which Euro- 
peans live are built of brick, plastered 
inside and out, and whitewashed. The 
roof is covered with bamboo, and 



22 RECOLLECTIONS 

thatched; with projecting eaves, so as 
to form a veranda eight or ten feet all 
around the building, or at least on two 
sides. * 

Another description of houses, differ 
from the last mentioned only in having 
a flat roof of masonry, like the houses 
in Palestine. In all probability, the 
house upon which Peter went to pray, 
and where he had the vision, was of 
this description. The roofs of the 
houses in Calcutta form a delightful 
place of retirement during the cool of 
the day. Standing on one of the high- 
est, a person may look over the city of 
palaces almost as far as the extent of 
vision. 

In the most common mud huts, the 
fireplace consists of several small ovens 
of mud, open at the top, on which they 
set their earthen pots to cook the rice. 
One of their rooms is occupied by the 



OF INDIA. 23 

family, and the other by their cows and 
goats. They have no chimneys or win- 
dows, and their door is so low that they 
are obliged to practise Franklin's max- 
im, " Learn to stoop," in order to enter. 
When the family increases, the younger 
members build other rooms around. 
Here they often live, several genera- 
tions together, until they become too 
large ; when they swarm, like bees, 
and build new settlements. The 
father of these families is the head or 
chief. He settles all disputes and re- 
stores peace and order among them. 

The furniture of the Hindoos is very 
simple. They have no chairs, but sit 
upon the floor or upon a mat. This al- 
so serves them for table and bed. Some 
of them have a rough cot to sleep on. 
Their cooking utensils are two or three 
earthen pots, which cost half a cent 
apiece ; one to bring their water in, 



24 RECOLLECTIONS 

another in which to boil their rice, and 
a third for their curry. Some have 
brass plates, and nearly all have a brass 
vessel, called a lota^ used for various 
purposes. 

I frequently saw the poor natives use 
part of a plantain leaf, as a dish for their 
rice. On one occasion I was present at 
a marriage feast, where about fifty na- 
tives were assembled. They were reg- 
ularly seated upon their mats, with plan- 
tain leaves before each. A large earth- 
en pot of boiled rice was first brought 
in and each had a quantity taken out 
with the hand. Then followed the cur- 
ry, and other native dishes in success- 
ion — formed of fish, peas, milk, fruit, 
vegetables, sugar, molasses, sweetmeats 
and spices — to the amount of nearly 
twenty different kinds, and set before 
each, upon the plantain leaf. All these 
dishes were served out and eaten with 



OF INDIA. ' 25 

the right hand, as they have no knives, 
forks or spoons. 

Rice is their common food. Some 
have nothing but a little coarse salt to 
eat with it; but they generally have a 
vegetable or fish curry, or stew, made 
hot with spices. They cook and eat 
twice a day ; then smoke the hookar, or 
native pipe ; chew the beatle nut, or 
some intoxicating drug ; then cover 
themselves with their cloth, and lie 
down to sleep. To a Hindoo, the hap- 
piness of life consists in eating, smoking 
and sleeping. 

Their dress is very simple. The men 
wear two pieces of cloth, about two 
yards long. One, the dutee, wrapped 
around the loins ; and the other, the 
chadre, thrown across the shoulders ; 
though the common working class have 
only the lower garment. The higher 
castes wear also a white muslin turban. 



26 RECOLLECTIONS 

The women wear one piece of cloth, 
about four or five yards long, which 
they put on so as to cover both body 
and head. Their arms are generally 
covered with ornaments of various 
kinds. The rich wear gold and silver, 
but the poor are content with their brass, 
iron, glass, and even clay, covered with 
sealing wax, and worn around their arms 
and ankles. They also wear ear, nose, 
finger and toe rings, of various kinds. 
Some have strings of small bells around 
their ancles, thus making a tinkling as 
they walk. The lower caste of women, 
who are employed in carrying baskets 
of mud upon their heads, have frequent- 
ly five or six pounds of brass rings on 
their arms. When asked why they 
load themselves with brass in that man- 
ner, as it must be very burdensome, 
they say it is their dusteree, or fashion. 
The men wear shoes made of leather, 



OF INDIA, 27 

embroidered with gold and silver thread. 
They are always down at the heel, and 
appear very clumsy. The Hindoos al- 
ways take off their shoes, as a token of 
respect or reverence, when they enter 
a temple, a house, or even when they 
salute a person. Such a custom was 
doubtless alluded to when God said to 
Moses, " Put off thy shoes from off thy 
feet, for the place whereon thou standest 
is holy ground." Wooden sandals are 
also frequently worn by the men. 

A great part of the Hindoos literally 
obey th& command, " Take no thought 
for the morrow," as they have no idea 
of laying up provisions for future use. 
They buy their rice for the day, and 
eat it ; then go to sleep as contentedly 
as though they had several months' 
stores provided. The natives distil a 
kind of spirit, something like New Eng- 
land rum, from rice. The sap of a 



28 RECOLLECTIONS 

species of palm tree, called the tadee^ is 
also much used as an intoxicating drink. 
When first drawn from the tree, it is 
almost like new milk, sweet and pleas- 
ant, and not injurious. After standing 
about twelve hours, it becomes like new 
cider. When a day old, it has ferment- 
ed, and becomes a spirit. A drug or 
gum, called gunja, they also use to chew 
and smoke. But the practice of chew- 
ing and smoking opium is common, and 
the efiects produced by it, more delete- 
rious than any thing else. Many of the 
poor natives make such constant use of 
it, that they are all the time stupified 
from its effects, 

A native bazar or market-place is an 
interesting and amusing sight. The 
merchants sit on the verandah of their 
houses, with their goods before them, 
and tliey arrange them with no little 
taste. Before one house is seen a cloth 



OF INDIA. '2^ 

merchant, with his bundles of native 
cloth for sale. At the next verEindah, 
country produce will be exhibited. One 
basket contains rice, another dhal or 
split peas, horse corn in another, some 
salt in a corner, vegetables and fruit in 
other baskets ; together with several 
kinds of parched rice, of which the na- 
tives are very fond. Perhaps his neigh- 
bor works in brass. He has a variety 
of brass dishes, and ornaments to suit 
all classes. The^toy stands are the 
most showy, and are tastefully arranged. 
They have wooden toys of all kinds, 
fancifully painted ; small looking glas- 
ses with an idol on the back, various 
kinds of beads, and rings of every des- 
cription, for the ears, fingers, toes and 
nose. 

The confectioner comes next in 
order, but it would puzzle any but a 
Hindoo to describe his precious sweets,. 



30 RECOLLECTIONS 

which are not very inviting in appear- 
ance, resembling in color those who 
make them. There are balls of parched 
rice and molasses, sweet cakes of va- 
rious kinds, fried in ghee^ (melted but- 
ter,) and candy images, in abundance. 
The banker, or money changer, is seat- 
ed in a corner of the street, with his 
piles of rupees, pice, and cowries, be- 
fore him on a mat. There are also the 
stands, where their idols are sold. Here 
they can choose their idol ; for there is a 
great variety, of silver, brass, wood, 
stone and clay. They can have a Jug- 
gernaut, Mahadabe, Krishnoo, Rada, 
Kalee, Lochme, Rama, and multitudes 
of others. There is another stand kept 
by the brahmins, or priests, where they 
sell various kinds of food at a great 
price, which they themselves cook and 
call Juggernaut's food. This, like the 
holy water of the Catholics, they think 



OF INDIA. 



SI 



purifies them from sin, and prepares 
them for one of the heavens of the 
gods. 




BHOD, DAROO-BRUMHA, OR JUGGERNAUT. 

The Hindoos have also particular 
market days, when the buyers and sel- 
lers assemble in an open plain, which 
2 



32 RECOLLECTIONS 

covers two or three acres of ground. 
Each trader has his articles for sale at 
a stand before him. It is interesting to 
see these bazars in the evening, illumi- 
nated with their hundreds of little lamps, 
all in confusion. The noise they make 
is heard at a great distance ; resembling, 
to one unacquainted with the language, 
the chattering of a thousand magpies. 

Box wallers, or pedlars, who bring 
English goods from Calcutta, are veiy 
common all over India. They also 
have various small articles, such as ped- 
lars in America carry about ; as needles, 
pins, ribbons, ornaments, &c. They 
will never tell the true price of their 
goods, but name a price five or six times 
their value. The only way to deal with 
them, is to offer them a fair price, which 
they generally take, after making a 
great noise, and asking for *' boxes," 
or presents. 



OF INDIA. S3 

CHAPTER III. 

TEMPLES AND IDOLS. • 

A Stranger in visiting Orissa is amaz- 
ed at the multitudes of heathen temples, 
dedicated to the gods, throughout the 
whole length and breadth of the land. 
Some are of very ancient structure, 
many are very large, and appear to 
have been very magnificent, and are of 
a conical form ; while othei-s are small 
square edifices. Some are constructed 
of reddish granite, resembling sandstone ; 
others are made of free stone, found 
plentifully in the neighboring hills. 
They are in the form of towers, (see 
Frontispiece) rounded toward the sum- 
mit, with other edifices attached, and 
rising from a square enclosure. The 
wall surrounding it is frequently found 
in ruins. The height of these temples, 
m their most celebrated cities, is nerer 



34 RECOLLECTIONS 

less than fifty or sixty feet ; and the 
loftiest towers reach to an elevation of 
from one hundred and fifty, to one hun- 
dred and eighty feet. " Not a wooden 
beam is used throughout. The stones 
are held together with iron clamps. 
Iron beams and pillars are used, when 
they could not be dispensed with ; but in 
general the builders have resorted, in 
the construction of their roofs, to the 
method of laying horizontal layers of 
stones, projecting one beyond the other, 
like inverted steps, until the sides ap- 
proach sufficiently near at the summit 
to admit of other blocks being placed 
across." 

The inside of these temples is cover- 
ed with sculptured images. The city of 
Rhobaneser contains six thousand tem- 
ples, dedicated to Shiva, one of the Hin- 
doo gods. A large number of these 
temples are still in a tolerable state of 



OF INDIA. 35 

preservation, though entirely negleeted 
and deserted. Many more are hid from 
view by the surrounding jungles, or 
appear like shapeless masses of stone, 
buried amid rank vegetation. Every 
village also has its temples in honor of 
some local deity, and its place of annual 
gathering for idol worship. 

The great temple of Juggernaut is 
situated at Pooree on the Bay of Bengal, 
about three hundred miles south of Cal- 
cutta. This is at present the most cele- 
brated place of idol worship in all India. 
" The edifices composing and connected 
with the temple, which are very numer- 
ous, stand in a square area, enclosed by 
a high stone wall, about six hundred and 
fifty feet on a side. A broad flight of 
twenty two steps leads from the principal 
gate of entrance to a terrace, twenty 
feet in height, enclosed by a second wall 
four hundred and forty-five feet square, 



36 EECOLLECTIONS 

in which is the first apartment. Con- 
nected with this, is the great ante-cham- 
ber of the temple, which opens into the 
^wer. This tower rises to a height of 
one hundred and eighty feet from the 
terrace, or two hundred from the 
ground." 

" There are about sixty officers to dress 
and ornament the idol of the temple 
of Juggernaut, and three hundred watch- 
men day and night. There are twen- 
ty keepers of the wardrobe of the idol, 
forty to ornament and perfume the 
idol, three to paint the eyebrows, and 
three servants to see that the several of- 
ficers perform their duties. There are 
also three hundred cooks, to prepare 
rice and to make sweetmeats, and the 
like, ten persons to take charge of 
the vessels with which the priests per- 
form worship, ten to bring water, one 
to keep watch at the door while the 



OF INDIA. 37 

idol is asleep, and another to witness the 
opening of the door when the idol 
wakes. There are also twenty keepers 
of the keys and twenty keepers of the 
doors — there being, therefore, no fewer 
than six hundred and forty-one persons, 
whose sole duty is to take charge of 
this celebrated Indian temple." 

The Hindoos have thirty-three mil- 
lions of gods. But the most popular in 
Orissa are Vishnoo, Brumha, Juggernaut, 
Krishnoo, and Rama — also Mahadabe, 
under an endless variety of local appella- 
tions. Female deities are also extensive- 
ly worshipped, as Lukshmee, Seeta, 
Radna Krishnoo ; while Kalee, the wife 
of Seva, is worshipped throughout the 
hill districts, and among the Khunds 
and many tribes in the plains. Some of 
these idols are well made, while others, 
and by far the greater number, are of 
the roughest workmanship and the most 



38 



RECOLLECTIONS 



hideous forms. Sometimes their deities 
are represented by a heap of stones, a 
stump of a tree, or an ant hill, smeared 
with red paint. 




ANUNTA SAYAN, PARAMASWARA, 
OR BRUMHA.* 

Anunta Sayan, Paramaswara, or 
Brumha, (the Eternal Sleeper,) is 
* The a is broad like o in fall. 



OF INDIA. 



39 



represented as laying on the back of 
the eternal serpent, that floats on the sea 
of milk. He is the great god of all ; and 
in process of time a water lilly grew out 
of his breast, from which Brumha, the 
Creator — the one generally intended by 
that name — is said to have sprung, Siva 
and Vishnoo are also said to have origi- 
inated in some way from him. 

The Hindoos never come to their 
temples to worship, without an offering 
to present These offerings are fruits, 
vegetables, grain, money, garments, 
jewels, &;c.; while the poor, who have 
no other offering, bring flowers. To 
the goddess Kalee, bloody sacrifices 
are presented, such as kids, rams, buf- 
faloes and fowls ; and among some hill 
tribes, especially the Khuhds, human 
beings. There are many public festi- 
vals, in honor of these idols, in all parts 
of Orissa ; but the principal is at Pooree, 



40 EECOLLECTIONS 

in honor of Juggernaut. To this cel- 
ebrated place of pilgrimage, thou- 
sands of deluded devotees from all parts 
of Hindoostan, are continually flocking. 
Many of the pilgrims who pass through 
Orissa have come hundreds of miles ; 
the most of them on foot, but some on 
horses, camels, or elephants, and in ve- 
hicles of every description. Numbers 
of these are devotees ; some besmeared 
with ashes, some have an arm erect 
and stiff, with nails longer than eagles' 
claws, some sitting on the skins of wild 
beasts perforlming their worship, and some 
singing songs and beating cymbals, 
while begging. 

The cholera, that dreadful scourge 
of India, visits vast numbers of these 
poor pilgrims ; and multitudes of them 
die on the great public road, especially 
in the rainy season. They then instant- 
ly become the prey of hungry jackalls. 



OF INDIA. 41 

vultures and dogs. Some of these dev- 
otees measure the road to Juggernaut, 
by the length of their bodies. They 
never rise upon their feet, but only 
upon their knees, then they reach 
their hands forward and draw their 
bodies along a little. Every time 
they make this advance, they beat their 
foreheads against the ground. Some, 
we have met with, who had travelled over 
five hundred miles in this painful man- 
ner. 

The daily worship of the Oriyas con- 
sists in repeating the name of their chos- 
en idol, at the same time counting a 
string of beads, in bathing in the tank, 
repeating some jargon of words, pour- 
ing out water, marking the forehead 
with the sacred ashes, &;c. At dark, 
the wife usually places a lighted wick 
before the door, to scare away the evil 
spirits. 



42 EECOLLECTIONS 

The character of the Hindoo deities, 
as found in their own Shastres, or sa- 
cred books, is represented as being ex- 
eeedingly vile. Crimes of every des- 
cription are ascribed to them. They 
are said to delight in human sufferings, 
and in the most cruel p.nd bloody tor- 
twre J ; and human sacrifices greatly de- 
light them. 

In order to propitiate these vile and 
cruel deities, the deluded devotees will 
often torture themselves in the most cru- 
el and fearful manner. Some will 
climb trees, and throw themselves down 
on thorny bushes, collected for the pur- 
pose, and some pierce their hands and 
tongues with red hot iron rods and 
knives. Many have hooks thrust 
through their backs, and are swung by 
them from a horizontal beam fixed on a 
perpendicular one. Then the next day 
they will go from house to house, with 



OF INDIA. 43 

the hooks sticking in their backs, dan- 
cing and howling like so many evil 
spirits, and striving to obtain money 
from all they can induce to give. 

The brahmins, or priests, of India are 
very numerous. There are three thou- 
sand hereditary priests connected with 
the temple of Juggernaut alone. The 
duty of the priest consists in bowing to 
the image, anointing it with ghee, pour- 
ing water upon it, and wiping it. He 
then marks the forehead with a white 
powder, and places the offerings of the 
people before it — which he afterwards 
appropiates to his own use. He adorns 
the image, and also himself, with gar- 
lands of flowers, and leaves the temple. 
In the evening, he goes again to the 
temple, and after washing his feet, pros- 
trates himself before the idol, then pla- 
ces in the temple a lamp, and as an eve- 
ning offering presents to the idol some 



44 RECOLLECTIONS 

milk, sweatmeats, fruit, &c.; when fal- 
ling at the feet of the image, he secures 
the door and departs. 

The brahmins themselves are wor- 
shiped by the other castes. Every 
Hindoo receives an incantation from 
some brahmin, who then becomes his 
spiritual guide, or gooroo. The princi- 
pal thing in this incantation, is the name 
of some god, who then becomes his 
chosen deity, and by repeating whose 
name he is to obtain great happiness. 
The disciple must promote the welfare 
of his gooroo, by all his actions. If he 
live in the same village he must pros- 
trate himself three times a day before 
him. If he meet him at any time he 
must fall at his feet and receive his 
blessing. When the gooroo visits his 
disciple's house, the whole family fall 
at his feet, and he condescends to put 
his right foot on the heads of the pros- 



OF INDIA. 



45 



trate family. One of the family then 
wash'es his feet, and they all drink some 
of the water. The rest is considered 
holy water, and is preserved with great 
care. They then present him with 
flowers, anoint his body with oil, and 
give him sweetmeats. Finally, he de- 
parts with presents, according to their 
ability. The heathen frequently tell 
the missionaries that they are forbidden 
by their' gooroos to take their books, 
visit them, or even talk to them ; and 
they dare not disobey. They imagine 
that their ceremonies and offerings not 
only deliver them from sin and its con- 
sequences, but that they accumulate 
thereby a great degree of holiness. 

They not only worship idols made 
with hands, and men like themselves, 
but they worship rivers. There is, 
to the Hindoo, scarcely in earth or heav- 
en a name more sacred than Ganges. 



46 EECOLLECTIONS 

The waters of this river are said to de- 
scend from above, and to purify those 
^ho bathe in them from every stain of 
sin. To die on its banks, or be wet by 
its waters, is thought a sure pasport to 
heaven. Journeys of thousands of miles 
are undertaken by multitudes, for the 
purpose of seeing and bathing in this 
sacred stream. Many rash devotees 
Toluntarily drown themselves in its wat- 
ers; thinking they thus secure their 
happiness in another world. Others de- 
vote their children to a similar destiny. 
In the courts of Bengal, the water of 
the Ganges is procured, upon which 
witnesses are required to make oath ; 
this form of swearing being considered 
of all others the most binding. 



OF INDIA. 47 

CHAPTER IV. 

PASSING THROUGH THE FIRE, ETC. 

Among the numberless idolatrous and 
cruel rites practiced in India, is that of 
walking through the fire, and is proba- 
bly of the same description as those spo- 
ken of in the Scriptures, Ezek. 20, 26, 
Lev. 18, 21. As this practice was com- 
mon in Balasore, I obtained from a 
friend the following account. 

" Having heard that a scene similar 
to that mentioned in Scripture, of pass- 
ing the heathen children through the 
fire to moluch, which is here called 
^Past Ejhur^ was to be performed by a 
guallah (cowherd,) near my house, I went j 
to witness the ceremony. It is some- 
times customary for nearly all castes of / 
people to make these vows on the day of / 
their marriage — that should they have a/ 
child, they will pass it through the fire^ 



48 EECOLLECTIONS 

in- honor of their goddess. In this case, 
the vow was to the goddess Rogee Cho- 
namoonee, a stone painted red. The 
parents having hired a man who under- 
stood the incantations and mysteries of 
this ceremony, he ordered a fire to be 
made of charcoal, mixed with rosin, sev- 
en and a half feet in length, by two 
feet in breadth, which was kept bright 
by fanning with the native winnower. 
Then a pit was dug at each end, to be 
filled with water, into which a little milk 
was poured. The offerings had been 
prepared the evening previous, and 
placed inside the house ; consisting of 
seven eggs, seven plantain blossoms, 
seven water pots painted like the god- 
dess, bread, fish," &c. 

'* All being ready, the parents and mun- 
ther wallah, who performed the incanta- 
tions, with fantastic caps made for the 
occasion, and placed on the neck of the 



OF INDIA. 49 

water pots, which were carried on their 
heads, preceded with torn toms, (native 
music) went to bathe, and after bathing 
and filling their water pots, returned in 
the same manner. The mother, having 
the infant in her arms, walked around 
the charcoal fire outside the pit seven 
times, when amidst the shouts and yells 
of the multitude, and the increasing noise 
of the tom toms, the parents passed 
through the fire, dipping their feet into 
the pits of water at each end, and return- 
ing to and fro three or four times ; the 
mother still having the child in her arms." 
" This part of the ceremony being 
finished, the munther wallah rolled about 
his head from shoulder to shoulder, 
making the people believe he was pos- 
sessed with the goddess. In the mean 
time the parents (without the child) 
seated themselves inside a small hut, 
purposely made with a hemp roof, cov- 



/ 

50 RECOLLECTIONS 

* 

ering their bodies with thin wet cloths ; 
and when properly covered, the hut was 
set on fire, and of a sudden the whole 
was in a blaze, which was as suddenly 
extinguished by the people around. 
The parents then arose, and the multi- 
tude separated ; there remaining only a 
few to devour the offerings. The 
munther wallah continued rolling his 
head about for some time after the 
ceremony had concluded." 

There is a story told of a gentle- 
man of Balasore, who was passing by 
when the goddess Rogoo had taken pos- 
session of a munther wallah. He en- 
quired why the man was rolling about 
his head in such a manner, as if insen- 
sible of the presence of any one ? The 
people answered that Rogoo had posses- 
sion of him and he could not help it. 
" Is it so," said the gentleman, " then 
bring my stick and I will see whether it 



OF INDIA. 61 

is true or false." After striking him once 
or twice the man ran away as fast as he 
could, calling out — " have mercy my 
lord and master ; " and the people ac" 
knowledged it was slW jute, (false.) 

The burning of widows alive, upon 
the funeral pile of their husbands, has 
been abolished by government ; but in 
the native Rajahs' dominions it is still 
frequently practiced. A short time 
since, the Calcutta papers gave an ac- 
count of the death of a rich native, 
when four of his wives burned them- 
selves upon his funeral pile. I have 
visited a mound or elevation of land, out- 
side the wall of Juggernaut, which was 
composed entirely of the bones and ash- 
es of widows, there burned alive upon 
the funeral piles of their husbands I 
They call this place, Swerga Dwara, or 
the gate of heaven. How much more 
appropiate to call it the gate of hell ! 



52 RECOLLECTIONS 

The devotees practice all sorts of self 
torture. Some clasp their hands over 
their heads, and keep them there until 
they could not take them away if they 
would. Others sit in a peculiar position, 
and never move for any purpose whatev- 
er. Some make long pilgrimages, 
wearing sandals, the upper side of which, 
next to their feet, is filled with sharp 
spikes. Still others support vases on 
their hands or heads, in which some 
shrub or flower is growing ; and this they 
do for years in succession, without the 
least interruption. Sometimes the hands 
are kept clenched, and the nails permit- 
ted to grow until they actually grow en- 
tirely through the hand. And all this is 
done to please gods that can neither 
hear their prayers nor see their cruel 
self torment3. 



OF INDIA. 53 

CHAPTER V, 

CASTE. 

A very great hindrance to the im- 
provement of the Hindoos, and also to 
the introduction of Christianity among 
them, is their division into distinct castes, 
or as they call it j art. All classes, the 
high and low, the rich and poor, are un- 
der the dreadful influence of this wretch- 
ed system, , which is calculated to exalt 
one part far above all others, and forever 
to oppress and sink the great mass into 
the lowest degrees of ignorance and deg- 
radation. Nor can they ever hope for 
an improvement in their situation ; as by 
the laws of this fatal caste, as their fath- 
ers were, so they must remain, from 
generation to generation. Hence all 
stimulus to exertion, for raising them- 
selves from their degraded condition, is 
removed. 



54' RECOLLECTIONS 

The Hindoos have four grand divis- 
ions of caste, and very many sub-di- 
visions. The primary divisions are, 
1st. Brahmins, who, according to their 
Shastres, sprung from the god Brumha's 
head ; 2d. the Ketras, from his arms ; 
3d. the Boishya, from his bowels ; and 
4th. the Soodras, from his feet. The 
Brahmins, or priests, study the sacred 
books, perform the ceremonies in tem- 
ples, and at feasts, perform incantations, 
&c. They are worshipped by the low- 
er castes, who consider it a privilege 
to drink the water into which a brah- 
min's toe has been dipped ! They are 
also very particular to collect the dust 
from the brahmin's feet, which they 
consider very sacred. The brahmins 
are very haughty and supercilious. 
They consider themselves the lords of 
creation, and look with contempt upon 
every caste beneath them, though they 




BRUMHA"^ — THE CREATOR. 



* The a must have the long Italian sound of a in 

iather. With the broad sound, as in fall, it raepns 

the great god of all. Many mistakes have occurred 

by confounding the two. This is the caste-father^ 

3 



56 RECOLLECTIONS 

are very glad to obtain money from 
the lowest caste native. A Hindoo is 
not allowed to perform any work, such 
as building a house, planting a field, 
buying a cow, going a journey, &c., 
without feasting and paying these priests. 
Multitudes of ceremonies have been in- 
vented by the brahmins, to increase their 
own wealth and means of extortion ; 
which adds to their superstitions, and 
makes the yoke of these poor people so 
very burdensome as to become quite in- 
supportable. 

The second class, or ketras, are con- 
sidered next to the brahmins. Rajahs 
are of this caste, and they are generally 
soldiers, or as the Hindoos call them 
teapoys. They are said to be created 
to protect the earth, the cattle, and the 
brahmins. They are permitted to read 
the sacred books. 

The third caste, or Boishya, carry on 



OF INDIA. 



57 



trade, are money changers, and keep 
cattle. They are far more industrious 
and useful than the higher castes. 

The Sudras, or fourth caste, are the low- 
est and most degraded. They are for- 
bidden to read the shastres, and are per- 
fect slaves to the brahmins ; nor can they 
perform a single religious ceremony, ei- 
ther offering prayers or sacrifices, ex- 
cept through the priest. There are a 
great many subdivisions of this caste, 
that are entirely distinct from each oth- 
er ; neither visiting nor eating together. 
They engage in almost all mechanical 
employments, but these trades are pur- 
sued from father to son in succession. 
Thus, the son of a carpenter must never 
follow any other employment than his 
father's ; nor can the son of a blacksmith 
ever choose any other than his father's 
trade. They will allow of no innova- 
tion or improvement in their trade, either 



38 RECOLLECTIONS 

in their work or tools. They would 
thinlc it sacrilege to do any work their 
fathers had not done before them. 
While in India I gave an old tea-tray to 
a painter, with a request for him to re- 
paint it, and return it immediately, when 
he should have his pay. After waiting 
nearly two months without seeing it, I sent 
for the painter. He came and brought 
the tray, just as I had given it to him, 
saying that his father had never painted 
such a thing, and how could he ? If he 
did, something dreadful would happen in 
his family ! 

These rules of caste are very strict 
and troublesome. They are not allow- 
ed to intermarry, to eat with each other, 
or even to touch a vessel belonging to 
the other. They are not allowed to do 
any work that is the business of anoth- 
er caste ; and this causes much annoy- 
ance to Europeans, as one servant will 



OF INDIA. 59 

only do one kind of work. A cook 
would on no account sweep a room, or 
wash even his own clothes. One servant 
must cook, another must wash, another 
clean the house, another go to market, 
&c. When they lose their caste, they 
are immediately turned out from house 
and home, friends and kindred ; nor is 
anyone permitted to assist them, for fear 
of like treatment. When they become 
Christians, they are obliged to lose caste ; 
and this is a great hindrance to the 
spread of the gospel in India. 

Those who lose caste, sometimes buy 
it again by making feasts to the brah- 
mins and paying them large sums. 
Some rich natives have given thousands 
of rupees for this purpose, and those who 
are poor give all they can beg or steal. 
The priests generally know how much 
a person possesses, and if he cannot ob- 
tain a large sum, he will take all he has. 



60 RECOLLECTIONS 

While we were in India a wretched 
young man was hung for murder. He 
was the only child of his poor aged 
mother, and all her support. After the 
dreadful scene, a benevolent lady sent 
for the mother, (who was lying under 
the gallows, bitterly lamenting her lost 
son,) and gave her some money, promis- 
ing her a monthly allowance. When 
the poor woman returned to her desolate 
home, the brahmins msisted that she 
had lost her caste, because her son was 
hung by a man of lower caste than him- 
self ! They found out that the lady had 
given her money, and refused to let 
her live in her village till she had given 
them five rupees, to buy back her 
caste. 

Thus the tender mercies of these peo- 
ple are indeed cruel. They cannot as- 
sist each other in sickness or distress, 
for fear of losing caste. They often 



OF INDIA. 61 

see a poor sick creature, fallen down by 
the way-side, whose cries for water are 
enough to pierce a stone, but they pass 
by, entirely unconcerned ; not thinking it 
possible to give even a little water, on 
account of their caste. 

On ©ne occasion, as Mr. N. was go- 
ing to the bazar to preach, he heard 
the cry of distress, and seeing a crowd 
gathering, went to see the cause. The 
groans proceeded from a poor woman, 
who was apparently dying. Her hus- 
band was supporting her on one arm, 
while in the other, he carried her little 
infant, about a month old. Mr. N. took 
the infant, and bade the man take his 
wife to our compound, where he should 
have a shelter and medicine for the sick 
woman. The man, with the help of one 
of our school children, (as none of the 
crowd would assist,) brought his wife to 
us, while I took care of the infant. 



OW RECOLLECTIONS 

The child was nearly starved, and 
with great eagerness took the nourish- 
ment provided for it. The poor woman 
was too far gone to be benefited. In a 
short time she died, and her husband, 
after securing her ornaments, put a rope 
around her neck and dragged her out of 
the compound, and threw her upon the 
road, to be devoured by the dogs and 
vultures. He could get no person of his 
own caste to assist him, and he refused 
to be assisted by any other. It was a 
most shocldng sight, to see the husband 
dragging his own wife, like a dead dog. 
The Hindoos looked on, not only with 
perfect indiffence, but with high merri- 
ment. 

While on a journey from Cuttack to 
Balasore, we were alarmed one evening 
by loud groans, as of a person in great 
distress. The bearers put down the 
palanquin in great fear, thinking that 



OF INDIA. 63 

the sound proceeded from wild beasts. 
But we soon found the cause of our 
alarm — a poor pilgrim of Juggernaut, 
dying on the roade We tried to get the 
bearers to assist in moving him to a 
house near by, but they would not so 
much as lift him out of the path, for 
fear of losing their caste. But the poor 
man needed not their assistance, for in 
dreadful agony he breathed his last, be- 
fore we could do any thing for him. 
Before morning the dogs and vultures 
had devoured him. Such is Hindoo- 
ism. 

The common beggars of the country, 
even in a time of famine, and though 
literally starving, refuse to take our 
food ; because it would destroy their 
easte, to defile themselves with our un- 
holy riee. 



64 RECOLLECTIONS 

CHAPTER VI. 

DEGRADATION OF FEMALES. 

In India the state of the female sex is 
wretched in the extreme. Doomed 
from their infancy to perpetual degrada- 
tion arid slavery, no wonder that Hindoo 
mothers consider the birth of a female 
child a curse, instead of a blessing. 
Their early marriages, their treatment 
by their husbands and friends, their be- 
ing forbidden by their law to marry 
again, should they become widows, 
which they frequently do even in child- 
hood, and the deplorable state to which 
they are reduced in widow-hood, are 
certainly calculated to make them mise- 
rable. 

A girl is married at about eight or 
ten years of age, so that she is too young 
to form an idea of the marriage vows 
she is to observe in the years of maturi- 



OF INDIA. 65 

ty. She is not acquainted with her 
young husband, whose future character 
and disposition, like her own, is conceal- 
ed in his childish state. The parents 
are the only actors in the transaction, 
and the poor children are united as two 
dumb animals in a yoke. The degra- 
dation of the wife is rendered deeper, 
by the despotic power of her husband's 
mother, who considers her son's wife as 
little better than a slave. 

While we were in India, a little wife, 
seven or eight years of age, ran away 
from her mother-in-law, and came to 
our boarding school to beg protection. 
She said she had been severely beaten 
and half starved. She remained all 
night with our children, and early the 
next morning her husband and his 
friends came for her. They were in 
great fear lest she had lost her caste by 
eating our food. After promising to treat 



66 RECOLLECTIONS 

her better in future, he took her home 
with him, though much against her will. 
She ran away again, about a month af- 
ter, and begged us to let her stay and 
eat ; as she said she was so cruelly 
treated she could not live at home. 
When her friends came the second time, 
we sent them with her to the magistrate, 
and stated her case, that she might be 
protected ; but he said he could do 
nothing in such a case, and gave t'le 
child to her husband. I suppose she is 
still in bondage, if living, like the other 
degraded females of that country. 

The wife of the Rajah of Sumbhul- 
pore was, in the absence of her husband, 
visited by her brother. When the Ra- 
jah was informed of the call, in a grea,t 
rage he took off his shoe and gave the 
poor brother a beating for his presum- 
tion, in daring to enter the queen's 
apartment ; telling him she was no long- 



OF INDIA. 67 

er his sister. To be beaten with a shoe 
is considered by the Hindoos the great- 
est degradation they can suffer. 

There are no schools in India for fe- 
males, except those at missionary sta- 
tions. Their education is entirely neg- 
lected. Every means of mental im- 
provement is carefully kept from them. 
A very common Hindoo proverb is — 
" A v/oman's knowledge should not ex- 
tend beyond the oven." That is, she 
should know no more than how to cook 
her husband's food. The most dreadful 
misfortunes are denounced against the 
woman who dares to learn to read or 
write. Thus, being deprived of all ad- 
vantages of education, females can- 
not become interesting and intelligent 
companions to their husbands, nor are 
they capable of forming the minds of 
their children. The husband never con- 
verses with his wife, nor is she permit- 



58 RECOLLECTIONS 

ted to eat with him. She must be con- 
tent to prepare his food, and retire till 
he has eaten ; and then eat what he and 
his sons leave. 

Of course domestic happiness is un- 
known. The wife, instead of being re- 
garded as the affectionate companion, is 
considered by her " lord " merely as his 
slave. The mother, instead of being re- 
spected and beloved by her children, is 
despised, and frequently beaten by her 
sons. The shastres, or sacred books of 
the Hindoos, say : " Woman is ex- 
ceedingly lower than man in her moral 
constitution." " Woman's sin is great- 
er than that of man." " Woman on no 
account is to be trusted." " Let a wo- 
man who wishes to perform sacred ab- 
lution, wash the feet of her lord, (hus- 
band,) and drnik the water ; for a hus- 
band is to a wife greater than Siva or 
Vishnoo." " Her husband is her god 




SHEBO, SHEEB, MAHADABE, OR SIVA, 



70 RECOLLECTIONS 

and priest and religion and its services ; 
wherefore abandoning everything else, 
she ought to worship her husband." 

A fruitful cause of sin and misery, is 
not permitting widows to marry again. 
When we ask the heathen why their 
widows are not permitted to marry, thev 
frequently answer, " If women had this 
license, they would poison their hus- 
bands, whenever they disliked them, in 
order that they might get new ones." 

Some of the reasons they give against 
female education are : " She would 
with the assistance of knowledge be en- 
abled to commit a greater number of 
crimes, vices and tricks ; and thus she may 
be more hurtful to the comfort of her- 
self and others." " As milk given to a 
dying snake is converted into poison, and 
it becomes more violent and bites its very 
benefactor, or as a sharp weapon put in- 
to the hand of a madman, with a view 



OF INDIA. 71 

of his preservation, is applied to his own 
destruction or the destruction of others, 
so education in woman produces similar 
effects." " Suppose it was a custom to 
educate females in this or in any other 
country, and even the injunction of the 
shastres was removed ; yet, since our 
forefathers have not thought proper to 
educate any female child of our family, 
we would not attach a brand of infamy 
to it, by sending our daughters to a 
schoolmaster to be taught." " A woman 
does not require education to enable her 
to discharge her duty to the gods, for if 
she serves her husband attentively, she 
dischrges all her duties as a creature of 
the gods. She has the privilege of par- 
taking half the merit her husband might 
acquire through the worship of the gods." 
"If a woman gets knowledge, she will 
throw aside all restraint ; and by reason- 
ing with men she will try to regain her 



72 RECOLLECTIONS 

liberty, and put herself on a level with 
man. Therefore by giving education to 
woman, we set at naught those divine 
precepts of the shastres, which direct 
the subjugation of woman in all re- 
spects." Again, they say that their 
shastres are so vile and abominable that 
they are calculated to pollute the minds 
of the women, and make them worse 
than they would be, without the oppor- 
tunity to read them. 



CHAPTER VII. 

SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATED BY HINDOO CUS- 
TOMS. 

Many of the customs and ceremonies 
of the people in India, strikingly illus- 
trate various passages of Scripture, 
which I could not before so fully under- 
stand. While landing from the steam- 



OF INDIA. 73 

boat at Calcutta, the first thing that 
struck my attention was the multitude 
of natives, (called by the Hindoos heas- 
tee, which signifies an angel,) with their 
leather bottles, which they were filling 
with water froni the river. These bot- 
tles are made of the skins of kids or 
goats, properly dressed — the skin of the 
legs being tied up, ^d the neck left 
open for receiving the water. When 
they become old they are patched and 
mended, as we mend old clothes. The 
Jews and other eastern nations used the 
same kind of bottles ; as we see from 
those of the Gibeonites, mentioned in 
Joshua 9 : 4, or those referred to by our 
Savior in Matthew 9 : 17. 

The grain used in India is daily ground 
in small mills, such as were in use in 
Scripture times. Hence, we often see 
" two women grinding at the mill.'" 
The two women sit opposite to each 



74 RECOLLECTIONS 

Other, on the ground, and hold between 
them the two round flat stones, of which 
the mill is composed. In the middle of 
th^ upper stone is a cavity for pouring 
in the grain, and by the side of this a 
wooden upright handle for moving the 
stone. When they grind, they push the 
handle to and from each other with the 
right hand, their:^left hands being em- 
ployed in furnishing the fresh grain as 
fast as the flour and bran escapes from 
the sides of the mill. This is a very 
laborious employment, and none but the 
lowest castes engage in it. 

The shepherds of India, with their nu- 
merous flocks, would call to remem- 
brance many beautiful passages of Scrip- 
ture, where our Lord is compared to a 
shepherd. The watchful care they take 
of their flocks, and the love they mani- 
fest toward them, as I often saw them 
carry " the lambs in their arms," re- 



OF INDIA. 7S 

minded me of the care of our kind hea- 
venly Father, who has promised to " feed 
his flock like a shepherd, to gather the 
iambs in his arms and carry them in his 
bosom ;" and of the " good Shepherd," 
who giveth his life for the sheep. 

The Hindoo marriages are celebra- 
ted with great parade and show, and 
among the higher castes, cost a very 
large sum of money. As the Hindoos 
consider it a great disgrace to have an 
unmarried daughter, they frequently 
destroy their female infants; fearing 
that they could not afford the expense 
of a marriage festival. The brahmins 
and other guests on such occasions are 
feasted, and also receive rich presents. 

We often heard the noise of the mar- 
riage procession at midnight. The nu- 
merous torches carried by the train, to- 
gether with the native music and fire- 
works, make it a grand sight to the na- 



76 RECOLLECTIONS 

tives. The bridegroom, carried in a 
palanquin, and attended by his parents 
and friends, proceeds to the house of the 
bride. His attendants carry torches, or 
lamps, with their vessels of oil, which 
they need to replenish them continually. 
So, if not provided with " oil in their 
vessels," their " lamps will go out." 
When the " bridegroom cometh," the 
friends of the bride " go out to meet 
him " with their lamps also trimmed and 
burning, and conduct him to the house 
of the bride, when they enter in and 
*' the door is shut." After the marriage 
ceremony is concluded at her house, 
the bride is carried to the house of her 
" lord and master," in the same manner ; 
where feastings and rejoicings are con- 
tinued several days. If the wife is of a 
respectable caste, she is then entirely 
SQcluded from the society of men — her 
husband must be her world. 



OF INDIA. 77 

Anointing with oil, is a very frequent 
custom among the rich natives, especial- 
ly at their feasts. The rajahs, or native 
princes, anoint their guests with various 
perfumes, and sprinkle their garments 
with distilled water, in token of friend- 
ship. This custom prevailed among 
the Jews in our Savior's time, which 
will explain his reproof to Simon — " My 
head with oil thou didst not anoint, but 
she hath anointed my feet with oint- 
ment." Luke 7 : 49. 

In travelling through the country, we 
often see temporary huts or cottages 
erected in fields and vineyards, where a 
man is placed to watch the fruit, till tHe 
time of ingathering. After harvest, the 
hut is deserted. This custom will throw 
some light upon the passage in Isaiah 
1 : 8. " And the daughter of Zion is 
left like a cottage in a vineyard, as a 
lodge in a garden of cucumbers," The 



78 



RECOLLECTIONS 



small fans, used by the Hindoos for 
winnowing gi'ain, are of the same de- 
scription as those the Jews anciently- 
used. We often saw the natives with 
the fan in hand, separate the wheat from 
the chaff. See Matt. 3 : 12. 

The houses of many of the rich Hin- 
doos have a flat roof; and they fre- 
quently sleep upon the house top in hot 
weather, as well as use them for private 
apartments. They have an open court 
in the middle, covered by day with an 
awning of cloth, to protect them from 
the scorching rays of the sun. It is 
probable that our Savior was preach- 
ing in'such a court when the man sick 
with the palsy was brought. " And 
they uncovered the roof, (or awning,) 
and let down the bed whereon the sick 
of the palsy lay." 

While in India, I occasionally went to 
the sea-side, to enjoy the refreshing 



OF INDIA. 79 

sea-breezes, and while there, saw many 
native huts built by the fishermen upon 
the sandy beach. In the rainy season 
these huts are often in one night washed 
away by the violent storms. They re- 
minded me of our Savior's beautiful 
parable of the " foolish man, who built 
his house upon the sand." 

" Cast thy bread upon the waters, for 
thou shalt find it after many days."— 
Ecc, 11: 1. This divine precept, in- 
culcating benevolence, is very strikingly 
illustrated by the Hindoo custom of sow- 
ing their seed while the ground is cover- 
ed with water, in the rainy season. 
^* After many days" the seed springs up,, 
and soon the smiling fields of waving 
grain encourage the hearts of the hus- 
bandmen with the promise of a rich 
harvest. 

" Gird thyself and bind on thy san- 
dals "-—Acts 12 : 8, Sandals, such as. 
4 



80^ RECOLLECTIONS 

are mentioned in this scripture, are still 
worn among the eastern nations, espe- 
cially the Hindoos. They are made of 
wood so as to fit only the sole of the 
foot, and when the natives set out up- 
on a journey they " bind them" on, that 
they may not lose them. Before they 
enter a house it is their custom to un- 
bind their sandals, and leave them out- 
side ; and their feet in that hot and dus- 
ty country being soiled and heated with 
their journey, the host, as a mark of hos- 
pitality and respect for his guests, brings 
them water to wash their feet, which 
greatly refreshes them. Many very 
zealous persons, unacquainted with ori- 
ental customs, mistake the passages re- 
fering to this practice, for a religious- 
ceremony, which, as they suppose, 
Christ enjoined. 

In India, when journeying about the 
country, we frequently meet persons 



OF INDIA. 81 

afflicted with all the diseases mentioned 
in Scripture, as affecting the crowds that 
followed Jesus. The leprosy is very 
common, and is a no less awful disease 
than it was in Palestine. The blind, 
the lame, the leprous, the deaf, and 
those that had the palsy, would come to 
us in crowds for relief. Beggars are a 
very numerous part of the population. 
Indeed there is a large class of religious 
beggars, called Byragees, whose caste 
forbids their working, and obliges them 
to live by begging. To those we did 
not feel it our duty to give, but it was 
our custom to appoint one day a week, 
in w^hich the poor, blind, leprous, &c., 
would assemble ; and it was a most 
wretched sight indeed, to see them. 
From fifty to one hundred generally 
came to obtain their pice (Hindoo coin) 
on these occasions. 

While living at Balasore, the Euro= 



8^ RECOLLECTIONS 

peans obtained a subsciption sufficient to 
build an alms-house for these poor crea- 
tures. Two very good houses, one for 
the leprous, and the other for the blind^ 
lame, &c., were erected and a monthly 
subscription obtained, enough to support 
seventy or eighty. When all was rea- 
dy, and they were invited to enter and 
be made comfortable, they with one 
consent refused to go, unless each could 
have three rupees monthly given them 
to buy opium t which they said they 
could not live without. As this request 
could not be granted, the houses eould 
not be occupied by them ; and they 
were used for an English school, and 
the monthly contribution was paid to 
the teacher. 

We find frequent reference in Scrip* 
ture to famines, among the Jews and 
other nations. In India famines are of 
frequent occurrence, when multitudes of 



OF INDIA. 83 

the poor Hindoos literally perish for 
want of food. Famines are always ac- 
companied by dreadful pestilence, and 
therefore they are greatly to be dreaded. 
They are caused either by a scarcity of 
rain in the rainy season, or by too large 
a quantity. If the natives were only in- 
dustrious enough to dig a plenty of tanks 
in the dry season, the rains would fill 
them so that they could obtain water to 
irrigate the rice fields. Then famine 
from that cause might be avoided. But 
such are their indolent habits that they 
had rather risk death in its worst forms, 
than trouble themselves at all. 

" But when ye pray, use not vain 
repetitions, as the heathen do ; for they 
think that they shall be heard for their 
much speaking." Math. 6:7. As were 
the heathen in the days of the Savior, 
even so are they now at the present 
time Their prayers consist in repeat- 



84 RECOLLECTIONS 

ing the names of their gods ; thinking 
the greater number of times they call 
them over, the more holy they shall be- 
come, and the more their gods will hon- 
or them. 

Females in India, as among all other 
uncivilized and heathen nations, are 
very fond of ornaments. And the same 
kinds are now worn by them as those 
described, in Isaiah 3 : 17 — 22, as worn 
by the daughters of Zion. They have 
rings or bells round their ankles and 
toes, ornaments for the legs, nose jewels, 
&c., &c. They are also very particular 
about " plaiting the hair." (Peter 3 : 3,) 
and ornament it with jewels of silver 
and gold. . 



OF INDIA. 85 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE SANTALS.* 

The Santals are an interesting and 
singular tribe of Flindoos, inhabiting the 
extensive hilly and jungly districts of the 
Mohur Bunge, in the western part of the 
province of Orissa. They claim to be 
the original proprietors of the soil, and 
some consider them the aborigines of 
the country, who fled from their con- 
querors to the hills and jungles, and 
have for ages remained entirely distinct 
from the surrounding tribes. 

Their language, domestic manners, 
customs and religion are altogether dif- 
ferent from those of their Hindoo neigh- 
bors. They have no written language, 
and of course no books, (as have the 

* Mr. Noyea was the first missionary who dis- 
covered the Santals. I gather these particulars 
from his account of them. 



86 RECOLLECTIONS 

Oriyas,) professing to give an account 
of their origin and religion, but depend 
upon tradition. They also differ from 
the Oriyas in having no distinction of 
caste, but all eat and drink together. In 
the common Hindoo manner, the roofs of 
their houses are of grass ; but the walls, 
instead of being mud, consist of sticks 
placed in the ground, sometimes plas- 
tered with mud. They have a small 
garden attached to each house, in which 
they cultivate a species of the Indian corn , 
mustard plant, castor oil tree, and vari- 
ous kinds of roots, which, with jungle 
fruits and wild honey, compose their 
food ; as they eat but little rice. Their 
implements of husbandry and furniture 
are about like the Oriyas, with the ex- 
ception of a neat cot for sleeping, the 
frame of which is woven with grass 
rope. They have also chairs of the 
same description. Hunting appears to 



OF INDIA. 87 

be a favorite amusement among them ; 
for which purpose they have a bow and 
string, both made of bamboo, with ar- 
rows pointed with iron. With them 
they kill the deer, which are very abun- 
dant in the Mohur Bunge, and also vari- 
ous kinds of jungle birds, which they eat. 
With the same weapons they sometimes 
kill the bear, and tiger, and do not hesi- 
tate to eat their flesh. 

Music is the most favorite amusement 
with both men and women. They often 
meet around a large fire in the centre of 
the village, and spend the night in beat- 
ing the drum, singing songs, which the 
songster composes as he sings, dancing 
and drinking spirits. When asked to 
give a specimen of their songs, they re- 
plied that a song would not come, with- 
out first getting drunk ! 

The complexion of the Santals is 
nearly or quite as dark as that of the 



88 RECOLLECTIONS 

African, and they have none of that va» 
riety of shade that is seen among all 
other Hindoos. They have more of the 
Hindoo than of the African in their fea- 
tures, though quite destitute of that sly 
and flattering look so characteristic of 
Hindoos ; and their uniformity of color 
is an evidence that they vi^ere originally 
of the same stock, and not a mixed race 
like the Oriyas. They are quite averse 
to flattery, and even among the Oriyas 
are proverbial for speaking the truth. 

Marriage contracts among the San- 
tals are not made by the parents, but by 
the parties themselves, at about the age 
of sixteen. The young man usually 
gives a present to the girl's father, either 
a yoke of bullocks, a cow, or something 
of the kind. The whole expense of the 
ceremony does not exceed twenty ru- 
pees — a part of which is spent in feast- 
ing the friends of the bride and bride- 



OF INDIA. 89 

groom. When all things are ready 
and the signal has been given, the bride- 
groom arises and puts some red paint up- 
on the forehead of the bride, whereby he 
seals her as his own. He then imme- 
diately takes to his heels, and the whole 
company after him with great speed, 
and if overtaken he is severely beaten ; 
but if he shows himself swifter than his 
pursuers, he gains much applause. Po- 
lygamy is sometimes practiced, though 
cases of the kind are not common. 

They have a singular custom in seal- 
ing bargains with each other, which is 
done by one of the men breaking off a 
branch from a tree and laying it upon the 
ground, while both declare that it shall 
be witness to their faithfulness. How 
much like the patriarchal age, when a 
heap of stones, or some such monument, 
was prepared to seal treaties. If a man 
is once guilty of breaking an obligation, 



90 ^ RECOLLECTIONS 

the whole community rise up against 
him, and expel him from the village. 

Though the Santals have for ages 
been surrounded by their more power- 
ful neighbors, yet they have never em- 
braced the Brahminical system of reli 
gion. They do not acknowledge a plu- 
rality of gods, and are quite ignorant 
of the names of the most common Hin- 
doo idols. Nor do they observe the 
various Hindoo ceremonies, such as 
marking the forehead, visiting holy 
shrines, bathing, &c. The object they 
worship is the sun, which they believe 
to be either God or his brightest image. 
They meet about once a month in each 
village to offer sacrifices, when a priest 
is chosen for the occasion, from among 
their number. The priest cuts off the 
head of a fowl, goat or sheep, and then 
pours the blood upon a piece of wood, at 
the same time invoking the sun in be- 



OF INDIA, 



91 



half of all the people, that they may be 
preserved from wild beasts of prey, that 
they may be delivered from enemies, 
have good crops, and find salvation af- 
ter death. 

The principal vice to which they are 
addicted is drunkenness. They distil a 
kind of spirit from rice, which they are 
said to drink in large quantities. 

Mr. Phillips, the American missiona- 
ry at Jellasore, has manifested much 
interest in this singular people. He has 
acquired their language, given it a writ- 
ten character, and translated elementa- 
ry school books, and the gospel, into it. 
He has also established schools in some 
of their villages. Some success has at- 
tended his labors in this field, and the 
prospect is very encouraging for the fu- 
ture ; but a missionary is greatly needed 
to live among the people, and labor 
wholly for their benefit. 



92 RECOLLECTIONS 

CHAPTER IX. 

THE KHUNDS. 

The Khunds inhabit the district of 
Goomsoor, in the vicinity of Jugger- 
naut's temple in Orissa. The condition 
of the people with regard to civilization 
is almost the lowest that can be imagined. 
In war, like most savages, they destroy 
without mercy. They war to exterminate, 
not to subdue, and merely for revenge. 
Their language is different from any of 
the surrounding dialects. It is entirely 
unwritten. Not a letter, not a charac- 
ter, representing sound, is among them. 
Everything is trusted to the vague and 
uncertain report of memory. On the 
subject of religion their minds appear 
to be exceedingly contracted. Their 
traditions extend only to a few vague 
notions, as improbable as they are sur- 
prising. They appear to consider the 



OF INDIA, 93 

earth a deity, and they pay a kind of 
adoration to the sky and elements. 

Human sacrifices are numerous 
amongst them, and they are offered par- 
ticularly at a yearly festival held about 
the full moon in January. The victims 
sacrificed are bought or stolen from the 
low countries, or some other distant part. 
Parents sometimes sell their own children 
for a small sum, for this horrible purpose. 
Brothers and uncles also frequently 
bring their own relatives and give them 
up for small gain ! If they are child- 
ren they are kept for some time — with a 
full knowledge of their fate — sometimes 
for years ; and have irons placed on them 
when they show a disposition to runaway. 
This awful ceremony is thus describ- 
ed. " When the appointed day arrives, 
the Khunds assemble from all parts of 
the country, dressed in their finery? 
some with bears' skins thrown over their 



94 RECOLLECTIONS 

shoulders, others with the tails of pea- 
cocks flowing behind them, and long 
feathers waving on their heads. Thus 
decked out, they dance, leap, and rejoice, 
beating drums and playing on instruments 
of music. Soon after noon the priest, 
with the aid of his assistants, fastens the 
unfortunate victim to a post, firmly fixed 
in the ground ; and then, standing erect, 
the person suffers the cruel torture of 
having the flesh cut from his bones in 
small peices, by the knives of the sav- 
age crowd, who rush upon him and con- 
tend with eacli other for a portion." In 
a few minutes the victim is destroyed, 
and the crowd disperse and bury the 
flesh in their fields before the day has 



That this is strictly a religious rite, 
may be seen by the following hymn to 
their goddess, which they always sing be- 
fore the sacrifice : 



OF INDIA. 95 

" Hail, mother, hail ! hail goddess Bhobanee, 
Lo, we present a sacrifice to thee ; 
Partake thereof, and pleasure let it give, 
And in return, let us thy grace receive. 
With music's various sonnds, on festive day^ 
Lo ! thee we worship, and thy rites obey. 
Hail all ye gods who in the mountains dwell. 
In the wild jungle, or the lonely dell. 
Come all, together come, with one accord. 
And take the sacrifice Ave have prepared ; 
In all the fields and all the plots we sow, 
O let a rich and plenteous harvest grow. 
O all ye gods and goddesses give ear. 
And be propitious to our earnest prayers 1 
Behold a youth, for sacrifice decreed. 
Blooming with tender flesh, and flushed with 

blood. 
No sire, no matron,' says, "this youth is mine," 
His flesh, his blood, his life, his all, are thine ; 
We took and fed him for thy rite alone. 
Lo ! now with rites from all polution free. 
We offer him, O Bhobanee, to thee. 
Taste now this ofiering, satisfy thy heai't. 
And bid us joyful to our homes depart ; 
Taste now this offering, and propitious be, 
Aud let us each marks of thy favor see." 

This hymn was repeated from memo- 



96 RECOLLECTIONS 

ry, by one of the rescued Khund victims, 
to a misionary, who translated it. About 
five hundred of these victims have been 
rescued from sacrifice by the EngUsh 
officers, and placed at the different mis- 
sionary stations, to be taught the holy and 
merciful religion of Jesus. Several ©f 
these children have been converted and 
are very useful in teaching others. 

The following letter was written by a 
rescued Khund victim, in the English 
Baptist mission school, to a minister in 
England : 

" My dear sir, — With many loving 
salutations I write this letter. I never 
saw you, but my teacher has told me 
about you, and I feel great pleasure in 
writing to you. I am not able to write 
a long letter, but will tell you about my 
former history. One day my parents 
went to the mountains to gather fruit. I 
was a little girl, and they left me in the 



OF INDIA. 97 

house with two brothers and three sis- 
ters. At night the village people who 
went with my father and mother return- 
ed and said, ' a tiger has devoured your 
father and mother !' We all howled and 
wept. We had no one to take care of 
us except our uncles. They kept us a 
little time, and then sold us for sacrifice 
to the Khunds. 

" I lived in one village and my sisters 
and brothers in another. My two broth- 
ers were offered as sacrifices. The 
Khunds were kind to me, but the neigh- 
bors said, ' they will one day kill you,' and 
I was afraid. One day a kind gentle- 
man came and took me, with many other 
children, away from these Khunds. I 
was then very happy. I came to the 
Christian school at Berhampore. In 
my own country, I never heard of the 
true God, but through my kind teachers 
I have learned how he created me, and 



98 RECOLLECTIONS 

how he sent his dear son to save me. 
Bless his holy name for this joyful news! 
To him I daily pray, and through his 
goodness I have learned to read his holy 
word. I am also taught to sew, knit, 
and do other work ; and I learn hymns, 
portions of Scripture, and also receive ex- 
cellent instruction. 

"Your little friend, 

" Jessie." 



CHAPTER X. 

MISSIONARY OPERATIONS IN ORISSA. 

The English General Baptists were 
the first body of Christians who com- 
menced missionary operations among 
the miserable and idolatrous Oriyas. 
Their first missionaries, Messrs. Bamp- 
ton and Peggs, landed on the coast of 
Orissa, Feb. 1822. 



OF INDIA. 99 

Their first station was Cuttack, where 
they laid the foundation of their mission 
by self-denying labor, ardent zeal, and 
entire devotedness to the good of the hea- 
then around them. Their first great 
work was to learn the language of the 
people, that they might teach them in 
their own tongue the wonderful works 
of God. Then came the labor of 
preaching daily in the bazars, and sur« 
rounding villages, establishing and su- 
perintending native schools, attending 
the public religious festivals of the hea* 
then, and preaching to them the gospel 
of the true God. Another great work in 
which the missionaries, who succeeded 
the first, engaged, was that of transla- 
ting the entire Scriptures into the Oriya 
language. This great work was accom* 
plished by the arduous labors of the 
Rev. Dr. Sutton. He also prepared 
and published dictionaries, grammars. 



100 RECOLLECTIONS 

and a variety of elementary works; 
and many tracts to be distributed among 
the people. 

After toiling about six years, and with 
weeping, sowing the precious seed of 
the gospel, the hearts of the missiona- 
ries were made to rejoice in seeing the 
first converts renounce their idols, and 
take the yoke of Christ upon them. 
Gunga Dhor, a brahmin of respectable 
family, was the first to renounce Hindoo- 
ism, and he was soon followed by Rama 
Chundra, son of the governor of the fort 
at Cuttack. These men became preach- 
ers of the gospel, and have continued 
unto this time faithful and devoted labor- 
ers. I have many times listened with 
the deepest interest to the eloquent and 
touching appeals of these first disciples, 
to their fellow countrymen around them, 
and their labors have not been in vain. 
Soon other natives joined them, and then 



OF INDIA. 101 

a little Christian church was formed at 
Cuttack — the first in that land of dark- 
ness, but not the last or only one. 

In the language of an eloquent native 
preacher, — "As the Indian banyan sends 
forth roots from its branches, which, 
striking into the ground, commence to 
thicken and strengthen upwards, and 
form other trees, to send forth their 
branches again, till the parent plant is 
surrounded with fine strong trees, and 
covers a large circumference of land ; 
so the parent church at Cuttack has sent 
healthy and vigorous daughters, to 
spread and to propagate others in their 
own vicinity, and be for the healing 
and salvation of the people all over the 
land." 

There are now three Christian meet- 
ing houses at Cuttack, nearly one hun- 
dred and fift}? native Christians, and two 
hundred and fifty more nominal Chris- 



102 RECOLLECTiONS 

tians ; making in all four hundred who be* 
iieve in the Christian religion. AtChaga 
six miles from Cuttack, there is a native 
church of fifty members, and an ex- 
tensive nominal Christian community. 
This station is under the care of a na- 
tive minister. Several other stations 
are occupied by our English Baptist 
brethren, where interesting native church- 
es are formed, and a native Christian 
community gathered around them. 
Nabana, the son of Gunga Dhor, the 
first child born of Christian parents in 
Orissa, himself a convert to Christianity, 
is now engaged in teaching the native 
princes of India the English language 
and literature. These princes will soon 
be the rulers of India, and it is to be 
hoped and expected that their influence 
will be in favor of Christianity. Thus 
we see the dawn of a brighter day in 
that land of darkness. 



OF INDIA. 



103 



The American Freewill Baptists 
sent out two Missionaries with their 
wives in Sept. 1835, to labor in connec- 
tion with the English Baptists in Orissa.- 
They arrived in India in Feb. 1836, and 
eventually formed two stations in the 
northern part of the province of Orissa ; 
one at Balasore, and the other at Jella- 
sore. These missionaries were the first 
sent out by the Freewill Baptists.^ 
In 1840, Mr. Bachelor and wife, and Miss 
Cummins, now Mrs. Phillips, were sent 
out to join their American brethren. 
Six other missionaries, male and female, 
have since joined the mission from this 
country. Two have died in the field,, 
and four others, in consequence of ill 
health, have been compelled to abandon 
the country and return to America, 

The American missionaries have now 
been fifteen years in Orissa, and some 
success has attended their labors. Twc;^ 
5 



104 RECOLLECTIONS 

churches and native Christian communi- 
ties have been formed. Several native 
converts have been baptized and added 
to these churches, and some of these con- 
verts are now engaged in preaching the 
gospel to their degraded countrymen. 

In a heathen land it means something 
to become a Christian. The natives who 
renounce caste have literally to give up 
all for Christ. They are considered out- 
casts by their friends, who turn them 
out of doors and persecute them with 
the greatest bitterness and cruelty. Their 
property is taken from them, and they 
are obliged to form a community by 
themselves at each missionary station, 
and guided by the missionary, sustain 
themselves as well as they can. 

The persecution and loss of property, 
attending a profession of Christianity in 
India, has operated as a powerful im- 
pediment to the progress of the gospel ; 



OF INDIA. 105 

especially among the higher classes of 
the Hindoos. But notwithstanding this, 
many interesting instances have occurred 
in which converts have forsaken houses 
and lands for Christ's sake. One Hindoo 
convert, baptised by Dr. Carey, by em- 
bracing Christianity was deprived of 
property to the amount of <£800, or 84,- 
000, per annum, and lived contentedly 
till he died upon the very small salary* 
of a native preacher. 

Dr. Sutton gave an account of a young 
native youth, worth ten thousand dollars, 
who hesitated for some time, though 
fully persuaded of the truth of Christian- 
ity. At length he came to the missiona- 
ry and told him he had put Christ in one 
end of the scale and his property in the 
other, and Christ weighed more than his 
property ; and he gave it up cheerfully 
to become his disciple. Thus many 

* Ten rupees, or five dollars, per month. 



106 RECOLLEGTIONS 

men of caste and consideration as well 
as property have, in embracing the gos- 
pel, become the ofFscoming of all things 
in the opinion of their countrymen-^ 
persons with whom no one would hold 
communion or touch. It can therefore 
scarcely be possible to attribute their con- 
version to other than sincere motives* 

The gospel is progressing in Orissa, 
and a delightful change is visible, to 
those especially who witnessed the early 
struggles of the first converts. The na- 
tive preacher Rama Chundra thus de- 
scribes the contrast between the present 
state of the mission and its first com- 
mencement. " I bless God for what my 
eyes have seen and my ears have heard ; 
things which I never believed I should 
see. When first Gunga brother became 
a Christian, and next by the grace of 
God I was brought in, how few and fee* 
ble we were. Of knowledge we had 



OF INDIA. . 107 

very little, of right conceptions how few ! 
All around seemed dark ; there was 
none but ourselves to speak to — none to 
bid us God speed. When we passed the 
door of those we knew, they pointed and 
said, che ! che ! fie ! 

" I used to have a thousand fears whe- 
ther I was right. I wondered what was 
before us — how our families would be 
preserved — where I should get a wife for 
my son — to whom I should give my 
daughter. Every where, from ev- 
ery body, we met with opposition. But 
God has been better to us than our fears. 
Here I can meet with two or three hun- 
dred brethren and sisters — a thing I 
could not have believed would ever be. 
We can read and pray, tell of our expe- 
rience and help each other. The gos- 
pel has brought down our pride and lev- 
elled our distinctions. I see our young 
folks growing tip to succeed us old ones. 



108 RECOLLECTIONS 

Yea, I have heard our children preach 
the gospel, and seen them go forth with 
us to the work. I bless God for what my 
eyes have seen, and my ears heard." 



CHAPTER XL 

NATIVE AND CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS. 

- The great hope of India is the re- 
ligious education and early training of 
the youth. The missionaries early felt 
the importance of this great work, and 
therefore established native bazar schools 
for boys — no girls being allov/ed to at- 
tend them — which they superintended ; 
though they were obliged to employ 
heathen teachers. These schools they 
frequently visit, and give religious in- 
struction to the children. The gospel, 
catechism, and religious tracts, translated 
into Oriya, are daily read by the chil- 



OF INDIA. 109 

dren, after they have learned the ele- 
ments of their language. The Oriya 
alphabet they learn by writing the let- 
ters upon the mud floor, with a soft kind 
of slate stone, which they call a curry. 
It is very amusing to see them wri- 
ting and chanting the letters at the 
same time. The Oriya teacher marks 
out the letters for them, and they go over 
his mark, with the curry, until they are 
able to form them without assistance. — 
Thus they proceed till they' can read 
and write the' alphabet, which consists of 
fifty letters. But this is not all. They 
have to learn about as many symbols 
as letters, and as many more combina- 
tions of letters, before they can learn to 
read. After they write well with the 
curry, they are taught to write with an 
iron pen upon the palm leaf. They are 
taught arithmetic, by performing their 
sums upon the ground with the curry. — 



110 RECOLLECTIONS 

At the present advanced state of the 
mission, heathen teachers are not em- 
ployed; as there are native Christians 
enough to take the charge of these 
schools. 

Some good has been accomplished 
by these bazar schools, but much instruc- 
tion has been lost for want of cooperation 
at home. Therefore the missionaries 
felt the importance of establishing native 
boarding schools, that they might have 
the children entirely under their in- 
fluence. At these schools, girls as well 
as boys are received and taught. Dur- 
ing the time of a severe famine in Oris- 
sa, we were enabled to obtain children 
for this purpose. Parents would come 
to us, prostrating themselves before us, 
and beg us to take their children — liter- 
ally naked and starving. Many poor 
children were also picked up on the 
great road to Juggernaut, whose parents 



OF INDIA. 



Ill 



had perished with disease and starva- 
tion. Some of these had not eaten 
proper food for weeks. They had fed 
upon bugs, grashoppers, &c., and some 
of them had even fed upon the dead 
bodies on the highway ! 

Many of them were so far prostrated 
by starvation that we could not recover 
them, although we used the greatest pre- 
caution in regard to their food. Of the 
fifty or sixty who were received into the 
boarding schools in Balasore, between 
twenty and thirty died in a few weeks. 
The others we had under our care. — 
They made good progress in their 
studies, and seemed very happy in being 
provided with a good home. The boys, 
after receiving a good common school 
education, and much religious instruc- 
tion, are taught some useful trade, by 
which they can support themselves. — 
The girls are taught to sew, knit and 



112 RECOLLECTIONS 

spin, in addition to their studies ; and 
then to make themselves useful by cook- 
ing, taking care of the house, &c. 

Very good success has attended the 
labors of the missionaries, in this de- 
partment. One of the first children re- 
ceived into our boarding school was a 
boy, about eight or ten years old, who 
came with a little sister. Though at 
first nearly as wild as a fox from the 
jungle, yet he soon became tractable- 
and eventually a bright and intelligent 
scholar. Since we left India, he has 
been converted, and is now a faithful 
and devoted native preacher of the gos- 
pel to his benighted countrymen. Some 
months since, Mr. Noyes received from 
him the following letter, which he trans- 
lated. 

" To the teacher of religion, Noyes 
Sahib, Christian Silas' loving salutation 
and supplication. 



OF INDIA. lis 

"Through the Lord's mercy, you came 
to this country of Orissa and remained 
here for a time. But on account of ill 
health you returned to your own coun« 
try. After this you somewhat recovered 
your health 5 and this hearing I was 
much rejoiced, and may the Lord pre^ 
serve his servant from all disasters. — 
Who knows if we ever shall meet again 
in this world ? but that we may meet in 
the future world, and from that day no 
more be separated, but all of us dwell in 
one home, doing our father's service, is 
my hope. May you pray for me that I 
may do the Lord's work until death ? 
For in this sinful country I was as fruit 
born after the proper time. The Lord 
of his own mercy choosing brought 
me out of this dreadfully dark state, and 
Tor this cause I will praise him. — - 
Through his mercy I am at this time lo^^ 
*iated in the church of Balasore, and 



114 RECOLLECTIONS 

that I may do his service in cultivating 
his field, I ask strength from him. 

" Again, I have great hope that from 
time to time, the darkness of this coun- 
try will be dispelled. That the Lord 
will enlarge his kingdom is clear, from 
the fact that people are enquiring for 
the Lord, and many are begining to be- 
lieve on him. I hope you will send 
many more missionaries from your 
country, that the people may be able to 
hear more of the gospel. 

" During the past year many orphan 
children have coms into our school at 
Balasore. South of Cuttack there is a 
wilderness country called Goomsoor. — 
In that country the people keep children 
for sacrifice, whom they kill from time 
to time, and bury their flesh in their 
fields. Now the Company made war 
with them, and took many of these chil- 
dren, and placed them in the missiona- 



OF mmA. 115 

ry schools. In this the mercy of God 
most bountifully is seen ; for the souls of 
these children seemed to exist for no 
purpose, but the Lord has saved them. 

" My wife, Mary, sends a loving salu- 
tation to you and to your mem Sahib and 
children. Give them my salutation, and 
also to your church. In kindness send 
me a letter, which finding I may be joy- 
ful. This from 

Silas, of Balasore." 

Dr. Sutton has given a very interest- 
ing account of a rescued Khund boy, 
who was sent to the mission school at 
Cuttack. At first he was the rnost un- 
promising of all the children. He 
was sullen in his temper, lazy and dirty 
in his habits, and resembled more a 
wild jungle dog than a human being. 
He was placed in school and kept under 
instruction a long time, without any 
prospect of learning anything, or being 



116 RECOLLECTIONS 

at all benefited. After being almost 
given up, as a hopeless case, during a 
time of revival in school, he changed of a 
sudden. He then took to his books and 
learned to read very rapidly. He sur- 
prised all, by his attention and intelli- 
gence. When he came to read with the 
Scripture class, it was found he had by 
his own voluntary efforts, not only over- 
taken, but outrun those in advance of 
him. It was delightful to percieve how 
well he understood the word of God, and 
how much he enjoyed reading it. As 
his mind expanded, he desired to be em- 
ployed' in the printing office. This wish 
was complied with ; but that dreadful 
disease, the leprosy, began to appear, 
and he was removed to the hospital. — 
As the physicians found his disease in- 
curable, he was taken back to the mis- 
sion premises, and made as comfortable 
as he could be with that disease. Then 



OF INDIA. 117 

his testament and hymn book were his 
constant companions, and his whole 
trust was in Christ for salvation. 

The night before his death, when Mr. 
and Mrs. Sutton visited him, they found 
him lying upon his cot, his bible by his 
side, and his hymn book open to the fol- 
lowing hymn, which he repeated with 
great joy,— 

*' Of all that decks the field or bower, 
Thou art the fairest, sweetest flower, 
Then blessed Jesus let not me, 
In thy kind heart forgotten be. 
Day after day, youth's joys decay. 
Death waits to seize his trembling prey. 
Then blessed Jesus let not me. 
In thy kind heart forgotten be." 

After praying with him they bade 
him farewell, and the next morning 
they found that the happy soul had been 
conveyed to the rest he had so long de- 
sired. Such are the blessed effects of 
missionary labor among the heathen. 



1 18 RECOLLECTIONS 



APPENDIX. 

VISHNOO AND HIS INCARNATIONS. 

Vishnoo or Bishnoo, together with 
Brumha and Mahadabe, is said to have 
sprung from Anunta Sayan; and the 
^ three are somatimes called the Hindoo 
trinity. Vishnoo is called the Preserver ; 
and for the purpose of preserving the 
world, the Hindoos say that he has taken 
upon himself successively nine incarna- 
tions, and is yet to take the tenth. 

The first incarnation was a being, 
half fish and half man, called Match ; 
the second was half man and half tor- 
toise, called Katch ; the third time Vish- 
noo appeared he had the head of a swine 
and the body of a man, called Baraha.; 
the fourth incarnation was half lion ani 
half man, called Nara-sing ; the fifth a 
dwarf, called Baman ; the sixth was the 




BISHNOO, OR VISHNOO. 



120 



RECOLLECTIONS 



son of a sage, called Prasuram ; the 
seventh was the god Ram, Rama or 
Rama-Chundra ; the eighth was Krish- 
noo, or Gopenath ; the ninth Juggernaut ; 
and the tenth is yet to come, with the body 
of a man and the head of a horse, and at- 
tended by a flying horse. This last they 
call the Kalunkee incarnation. 

These incarnations are represented by 
the following engravings — with the ex- 
ception of Juggernaut. — See page 31^ 




1. MATCH. 



-KATCH. 




3. BARAHA. 4. NARA-SING. 





5. — BAMAN, 6. — ; 



PRASURAM, 




10. KALUNKEE. 



